New WXN Report Reveals Gender Parity on Canadian Corporate Boards a Decade Away

TORONTO, Nov. 7, 2023 /CNW/ - WXN (Women's Executive Network) exposes a ten-year timeline for gender parity on Canadian corporate boards in a new report, Moving Beyond Progress to Create Bold Change. The research reveals women currently occupy 34 per cent of board roles within Canada's biggest companies at an average annual growth rate of 1.6 per cent.

"Ten years is too long to wait. In 2013, WXN challenged Canadian companies to achieve 30 per cent representation of women on boards in five years. A decade later, we've finally surpassed that goal. We see solid signs of collective progress, but it's not enough. There's still a long way to go before the representation of women in leadership positions reflects our vibrant and diverse country," said Sherri Stevens, Owner and CEO of WXN.

The report tracks the representation of women on boards and in executive leadership positions within companies listed on the 2022 Financial Post FP500 rankings. It measures progress in 16 industries across five key regions in Canada with comparative data dating back to 2011.

Other key findings include:

• 39 companies list no women on their executive leadership team
• In three industries, no women serve as chair of the board
• Women hold fewer than 25 per cent of C-suite and executive leader positions
• Women represent just 10.6 per cent of president and CEO roles
• Women remain underrepresented in C-level positions containing the words "finance" and "operations," and overrepresented in those containing "people" and "human"
• Challenges persist for Racialized women, Black, Indigenous, Women of Colour, Women living with disabilities and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community

In response, WXN urges Canadian corporations to embrace new representation goals for 2030: full gender parity (50 per cent representation) for women on boards and 40 per cent representation of women in executive leadership roles, including women of colour, women who are Black, Indigenous women, women living with disabilities and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

"Reaching these goals will take work, commitment and dedication. With the unwavering participation and commitment of every Canadian company and its leaders, we can create a bold future where every woman has an equal voice and opportunity to succeed. The path forward is ours to choose, and together we can choose a better Canada where everyone feels like they belong within our organizations and beyond," said Stevens.

WXN has a long history of monitoring and advocating for the representation of women on boards spanning more than 10 years. For more information or to access the full report, Moving Beyond Progress to Create Bold Change, visit https://wxnetwork.com/page/WXNResearchReport-MovingBeyondProgresstoCreateBoldChange.

About WXN

WXN (Women's Executive Network), a member-based organization, is North America's #1 and only organization that meaningfully propels and celebrates the advancement of thousands of professional women at all levels, in all sectors, and of all ages. WXN delivers this advancement through training, events, mentoring, networking, and award and recognition programs for members and partners. WXN operates in Canada and the U.S.

SOURCE WXN (Women's Executive Network)

For media inquiries or to arrange an interview with Sherri Stevens, please contact: Garry Atkinson, Research & Analytics Manager: [email protected].